The good news for Canonical is that it raised nearly $13 million on crowdfunding site Indiegogo to build its new Ubuntu Edge smartphone, which doubles as a desktop computer. The bad news is that it needed $32 million.

Since the funding target was not reached by the deadline on Thursday, the pledged $12.8 million will be returned. The amount raised set a record for that site, blasting past the previous record of about $1.6 million raised to create a Star Trek Tricorder-like device, from a company called Scandu Scout. On Kickstarter, another major crowdfunding site, the record is about $10.2 million raised for the Pebble smart watch.

If Canonical had actually reached its goal, 40,000 Edges would have been shipped to qualified backers by May of next year. Other Ubuntu-based phones are expected to go on sale in the first quarter of 2014.

'Surprised Even Us'

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth told the BBC that the campaign "has sparked a level of interest that has surprised even us," getting the attention not only of enthusiasts but also manufacturers that had previously not expressed an interest.

The pledgers included Bloomberg LP, which said it made an $80,000 contribution because the open-source initiative could benefit its clients and the future of mobile computing.

Edge's edge is that, in addition to its smartphone capabilities, it can also operate as a desktop computer when connected with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. This all-in-one approach could have appeal in developing markets, or for mobile workers. The Edge's specs include an unidentified multi-core CPU, 4 GB of memory and an impressive 128 GB of storage. The Ubuntu operating system, a variant of Linux, is also designed for tablets, servers, and cloud networks.

Like Linux, Ubuntu is open source, and is trying to grab third, fourth or even fifth place in the mobile platform world behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS, which dominate the market. Mozilla's Firefox mobile OS has also been actively soliciting carriers and manufacturers for its open source, HTML5 approach, and there are others, including Samsung's Bada, the Linux Foundation's Tizen, and Jolla's Sailfish.

'Huge, Huge Leap of Faith'

Recent reports from IDC and Gartner show Windows Phone moving into third place worldwide, with BlackBerry barely holding fourth.

Shuttleworth, in a posting on the Indiegogo site, said the fund-raising effort benefited the Ubuntu OS movement even if it fell short. He said some businesses invested $7,000 apiece, and the Ubuntu community contributed time, mailing lists, social media strategies, and online ads. There are also reports that the response has helped Canonical negotiate lower prices for components from suppliers.

Ramon Llamas, a research analyst with IDC, told us it was still a stiff "uphill battle to win hearts and minds" for a new mobile operating system. On the other hand, he noted it was a "huge, huge leap of faith" for so many people to pledge money for a device they've never seen.

The top questions for most buyers, he said, is "how do I like the hardware, how I like the software, and how does it come together?" Llamas described himself as "not too crazy about the idea of hooking up my phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse," and added that he thought the rest of his household would "prefer to use a laptop anyway."

There is a much smaller crowdfunding project which has the goal to bring out the Ubuntu Phone on already existing hardware:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-phone/x/4894010

Chris:

Posted: 2013-09-23 @ 12:40am PT

They should start with a tablet instead of a phone. Tablets can make better use of the CPU power in mobile mode, and wouldn't have to exclude a core from desktop mode.

Charles:

Posted: 2013-09-21 @ 11:56pm PT

Canonical should start with a less ambitious project of shipping Ubuntu-based phone hardware sourced from a qualified OEM supplier. This will enable it to earn the money required for this proposed Ubuntu EDGE and let people get used to Ubuntu phones.

If Canonical can release Ubuntu Touch next month, it should be able to ship its own brand of Ubuntu-based phones or partner with an existing phone manufacturer and share the revenue.

BTW. I know a company which makes a tablet-phone (actually a keyboardles tablet netbook-phone) which runs Windows 7 (not Windows Mobile 7) and boasts that it can double up as a desktop PC when docked but I don't think his company is making money, so Canonical's idea of a phone which turns into a desktop PC when docked, doesn't look like it will be popular.

LinuxNewbie:

Posted: 2013-09-14 @ 6:27am PT

First of all, Ubuntu IS a Linux operating system (not just "Like Linux" as stated in this article).

Second, for a researcher Ramon Llamos hasn't done much research on this. The point of Ubuntu's strategy isn't to develop "a new mobile operating system". It is to have a single OS that can be used on a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, a TV, or whatever device the consumer prefers.

This is about convergence, and having a consistent, unified Linux experience across all devices. If you're "not too crazy about the idea" of hooking your phone up to a monitor, you don't have to. But you can. You don't need to use a single device to fulfill all of your computing needs. But you can.

Linux (and like it or not, Ubuntu is a Linux OS) is about freedom to use whatever device you want in the way that you want to use it. And while there are complaints in the open source community about Ubuntu's approach, their efforts are clearly in harmony with the spirit of software freedom.